It is extremely desirable to construct disposable articles, such as absorptive devices, including sanitary napkins, panty liners, interlabial devices, diapers, training pants, incontinent devices, wound dressings and the like to have a cloth-like feel and a reduction in gloss for a plastic film topsheet. An absorptive device is typically comprised of a topsheet against the user's skin, the option of an acquisition distribution layer disposed beneath the topsheet, an absorbent core affixed between the topsheet and a barrier layer and a barrier layer that is also called a backsheet. Absorptive devices are more desirable when enhanced with a soft cloth-like surface feel to the user's skin at any anticipated points of contact. Likewise, by having a topsheet that is a soft, cloth-like body-facing surface that retains a dry surface feel during use, an absorptive device gives improved wearing comfort, and minimizes the development of undesirable skin conditions due to prolonged exposure to moisture absorbed within the absorptive device.
Topsheets comprised of macroscopically expanded, three dimensional, apertured polymeric webs have been shown to exhibit desirable fluid transport and fluid retaining characteristics. Desirable fluid transport characteristics allow the topsheet to acquire fluids, such as urine or menses, and pass the fluid into the absorptive article. Once absorbed into the absorptive article, the fluid retaining feature of the topsheet preferably prevents rewet, i.e., the movement of fluid back through the topsheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,045 (Ahr et al.) discusses an apertured macroscopically expanded three-dimensional polymeric web that exhibits a substantially non-glossy visible surface and cloth-like tactile impression. Ahr et al. teaches the criteria which must be met with respect to the regularly spaced pattern of surface aberrations in order to diffusely reflect incident light and thereby reduce the gloss. Despite its advancements in eliminating gloss, the structure of the surface aberrations of the web in Ahr, et al. can lack desired softness and pose manufacturing difficulties in reliably making the regularly spaced pattern of surface aberrations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,730 (Sorensen) discusses a multiplicity of “nubbles” to provides a cloth-like feel and a reduction in gloss for a plastic film topsheet. The nubbles are discusses as being spherical or spheroidal in cross-section having a cross-sectional diameter of from about 0.0005 inches to about 0.0110 inches (0.0127 mm to about 0.279 mm).
However, improvements in the reduction of gloss from polymeric webs used as topsheets while maintaining desired softness still remain an existing need.